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CLUB: The Boys and Girls Club is located on 608 East State Street in Huntington, IN. (Photo by Laura Watson)
Stepping into the worn brick building that serves as the Huntington County Boys & Girls Club is like walking into a deafening mixture of sounds.
The halls and rooms echo with the sound of children playing: balls bouncings, feet smacking on tile and loud, screechy voices. A few children play basketball, while others occupy their time in the homework room or play games on the Nintendo Wii.
Since 2001, the Huntington County Boys & Girls Club has served as a place for elementary, middle and high school students to play and work on school work. However, their purpose is more than helping students academically.
“The Boys & Girls Club’s main mission is to help kids reach their potential as citizens and students,” Sarah Wust, art coordinator and alumna, said.
Wust started working at the Boys & Girls Club in January, leading a photo and design technology program. The club also offers leadership programs, health classes and mentoring.
The social work program has been sending student volunteers to the Club since the fall of 2005.
“The students provide one-on-one time that sometimes the Boys & Girls staff don’t have the flexibility of doing,” Carla MacDonald, assistant professor of social work, said. “A lot of times that one-on-one is just talking if someone had a bad day at school.”
Amanda Shoup, a senior social work major, helped out with The Boys & Girls Club during her freshman year through her Introduction to Social Work class.
“It was an interesting experience,” Shoup said. “We got to work not only with the kids but also with the staff.”
She said it was stressful for her at times because of the different age groups that the club cares for.
“I think that was a good experience because I think that you’re going to have that in basically any job,” she said. “There’s always going to be chaos in some form.”
The Huntington Boys & Girls Club is open from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information on how to volunteer, email Carla MacDonald.
Great article Laura! Informative, good quotes, nice picture and well written. Sounds like a place Sam might work at.
How is this story newsworthy? In journalism, community spotlight or otherwise, the purpose of NEWS is just that- new perspectives, new programs, new voices. Instead Ms. Watson has provided us with low-quality spittle that fails to bring ANY information worth noting to Huntingtonian readers. Watson would have been better off simply submitting the address for the B&GC building…it certainly would have been more helpful.
By the way, the first paragraph contains an incorrectly used simile. Walking into the building isn’t “like” walking into a mixture of deafening sounds, it IS walking into a mixture of sounds- though I doubt Ms. Watson or anyone within the vicinity lost their hearing over it, unless the building has become the newest location for rock concerts.
Now THAT would be a story for community spotlight.
As someone who currently is making their living working in news (although it is broadcast news as opposed to print journalism) and someone who had to take a journalism class while in college, I must humbly disagree with you. One of the things about news is that not everything can be murders and car crashes. It’s just as important to give simple, public interest stories to both show the community your involvement and to help to lighten the mood of your newscast or newspaper. When doing these lighthearted stories, you need to approach them in a simpler, more conversational way and present it in a way that the people watching/reading will be more entertained than anything else. This article was intended as a public interest piece similar to the ones I described. The news station I work at runs stories from a CNN reporter named Jeanie Moos. She mostly does public interest, fun stories. With a little work, this author could reach that point.
Rock on Laura Good story. We need to hear about the good things going on in the community. :D
I agree…what a yawner. Back to chapel to finish my nap…